It’s not easy being a dev. OptiFi (a Solana-based DEX) has experienced an unanticipated downfall recently due to a minor coding error. Platform released an announcementTheir mainnet program was unrecoverable yesterday. It has caused an unanticipated shutdown of the DEX.
Let’s review what we know from the announcement and how something like this could be avoided in the future.
OptiFi’s Unexpected Shutdown
OptiFi, a decentralized option and derivatives-focused exchange (DEX), was created on Solana less than a decade ago. The platform touted Solana’s low latency transactions, portfolio margining and partial liquidation mechanisms. The platform also brought the “first-ever delta-neutral options AMM vault” on Solana that provided yield to depositors. How did this happen? According to OptiFi’s full debrief, a code update that was moving to Solana mainnet saw a user error that resulted in the use of a ‘solana program close’ command, locking roughly $660K worth of USDC in OptiFi-stored funds in their AMM vault.
OptiFi assures that users funds will be paid back (while noting the fact that a lot of these funds were from an employee). A Solana github proposal has been created to deal with the problem. OptiFi notes in their debrief of a “lesson we learned harshly:”
ANY DEPLOYMENT REQUIRES A RIGOROUS PROCESS. A SMALL POINT FAILURE CANNOT BE AVOIDED. PLEASE NOTE DON’T RUSH LIKE WHAT WE DIDDEFI PROJECTS – SPECIALLY
Despite some setbacks such as the recent OptiFi crisis, Solana has proven to be a promising player in NFTs & DeFi. Source: SOL-USD on TradingView.com | Source: SOL-USD on TradingView.com
Are You Still in Solana Season
Solana continues to make strong gains in NFT and DeFi marketplaces despite small setbacks. Solana-based NFT projects such as DeGods or Okay Bears have helped propel the network to the strange #2 spot, behind only Ethereum. According to DeFiLlama, Solana’s performance in the relevant DeFi has been largely better than that of last year. This was due to growing products like Solend and Serum. DeFiLlama ranks Solana at #6 on the list of total value locked (TVL), just above $1B in funds.
Shipping products and building them is not an easy task. Although it is frustrating to watch ecosystem products fall prey to small mistakes, this unfortunately happens all the time. We wish the OptiFi team all the best as they go forward.
Featured Image from TradingView.com, Charts and Pexels Disclaimer: The author of this content has not been associated with or paid any money to the companies mentioned. This content is not intended to be financial advice.